Improvement in broom-corn and sorghum strippers



'K. W. DOUDNA.

Cane-Stripper.

No. 53,126. Patented Mar 13, L866 N.PETERS. PIlOTO-LITHOGRAPHER, WASNiNGTON. D. C.

tlNTTEn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

KNOWIS W. DOUDNA, OF MILWOOD TOWNSHIP, GUERNSEY COUNTY, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN BROOM-CORN AND SORGHUM STRIPPERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 53,126, dated March 13, 1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, KNOWIS WEBs'rER DOUDNA, of Millwood Township, in the county of Guernsey and State of Ohio, haveinvented a new and useful Machine for the Purpose of RemovingorStripping Off the Seeds of Broom- Oorn and Sorghum-Cane; and Ido hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawing, in which- A and B are the jaws of clamp a, viewed from the front. These jaws are faced for part of their length with a thin plate of iron or other smooth metal. (See 1 1.) The board or flat piece of wood of which the machine con-' sists is sawed or split, as represented by the lines o d and cf, so that the divisions pass each other for such a length and at such a distance apart as will make the jaws separate sufficiently to admit a stalk of broom-corn or sorghum, when the part of said stalk immedidiately below the seed is pressed into the notch or division cf by the hand of the operator, and also for such a length and distance apart as will cause the jaws of the clamp to approach each other in a parallel position when their upper ends are pressed together with sufficient force to strip off the seed when the stalk is drawn through.

The machine, when in operation, is supported on a bench by a mortise passingthrongh the bench and through a board at its feet, as

or sorghum between the jaws and by draw-' ing it quickly toward the body, while the left hand presses the handles together, strips off the seeds, and thus cleans the corn or cane.

Whatl claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The application to the operation of removing the seeds from broonrcorn and sorghumcane, of the spring or principle of motion produced by dividing a flattened piece of wood so that the dividing lines, starting from opposite ends, shall pass each other for such length and at such a distance apart as will secure the approach of the jaws of machine or clamp in a parallel, or nearly parallel, position when a stalk or stalks of broom-corn or sorghum-cane is placed between, in ahorizontal position, the clamps or jaws of my machine.

KNOWIS W. DOUDNA. Witnesses:

ISAAC W. HALL, JOSEPH G. WEBSTER. I 

